PLACING FOCUS ON CULTURE THAT IS MINORITISED TO COMMEMORATE HERITAGE MONTH

The Market Theatre Laboratory in partnership with the National Heritage Council closed off Heritage Month  at The Market Theatre Foundation through a weeklong programme from 26 – 29 September 2024. The programme celebrated the histories of minoritised identities and galvanised hope and action towards further protection and cultivation of projects that seek to unite, challenge and develop a sustainable democracy.

The programme focussed on the stories of minoritised culture and identities to celebrate indigenous language systems and indigenous stories. Indigenous narratives and languages to take up space in our creative spaces.

The Market Theatre Lab is a multi-award-winning arts incubator, with a reputation for facilitating the development of exceptional young theatre-makers, facilitators, actors, writers and directors, and for creating innovative and relevant new plays. With multiple local, African and global partners, the Lab strives to create enriching experiences that contribute to the personal and artistic growth of each person who participates in our programmes. When the Market Theatre Laboratory opened its doors in 1989, the intention of its founders, Vanessa Cooke, Dr John Kani and Barney Simon, was to provide opportunities to talented youth from disadvantaged backgrounds who would not otherwise be able to pursue their passion for the arts or study further.

As part of the celebrations, The Lab presented their next Theatre Think Tank instalment, curated by artist-researcher Pule kaJanolintji (Tūkx’aoseb) together with the presentation of Swartwater, a theatre production by Nama Khoi Productions. For the Theatre Think Tank, titled Sida !Hūb: Performing The Land, Pule brought together two panellists who shared their embodied knowledge and research. Collectively, they told the story of how land is culture and culture is land, placing minoritised culture and identities at the forefront of the conversation.

The Lab’s Theatre Think Tanks served as an invaluable exploration and reflection on the wealth of knowledge enacted, embodied and performed by practitioners in the arts, culture and heritage field. The specific aim was to gather, organise and ultimately draw on the knowledge of local communities, making this accessible to the greater community.

The production, Swartwater, tells the story about the losses experienced by the Nama Khoi indigenous people during the discovery of diamonds in the 1900s. The story follows a Nama family as they face the painful reality of once again being asked to uproot their lives and leave Swartwater, for the Cape Colony. Through the eyes of Tieles, who is in the process of departing Swartwater, audiences are taken on an emotional journey of profound loss as they unpack the previous forced removals from Dunvlei and Ariesdrift. Swartwater guides the audience through a profound exploration of grief, resilience, and the enduring spirit of a people determined to overcome adversity.

At the helm of Nama Khoi Productions is an extraordinary theatre-maker, Geralt Cloete, whose work is focused on sharing the experiences of the Nama people. Nama Khoi Productions is  situated in Sanddrift, a community on the outskirts of the Northern Cape, in the Namaqualand Region. The Foundation hopes that by bringing the work of Nama Khoi Productions to Johannesburg will assist in expanding the reach of their stories and for the local creative and arts community to honour such stories as well as contribute to the developing knowledge of a past not often spoken about.

ENDS

For enquiries, please contact Bongiwe Potelwa (Publicist at the Market Theatre Foundation) at bongip@marketheatre.co.za or (011) 832 1641.